Writing: Grammar, Usage, and Style (Cliffs Quick Review)

I used to be one of those guys who prided himself on the fact that he had never used Cliffs Notes in his life. Now here I am, twenty years later, teaching literature and poking around looking for a writing guide with which to help my students with their essays. So imagine my surprise when I find a CliffsNotes guide on writing. And it's a good one, too. Really good. So well done, CliffsNotes guy, whoever you are.

I disagree with the previous reviewer. For one thing, the reader inaccurately assumes this book is in the same genre as the Gregg Reference Manual. The Cliffs book is intended for basic writers who need the core basics of a Freshman ENG 101 course from research to revision. It is not intended as any sort of intensive grammar review or grammar dictionary. To use it as such or frankly to expect a Cliffs book (the publisher should be a tip off to the genre, level, and intended audience) to do more than that is naieve at best. The reader also places excessive faith in a book that is by no means the industry standard or even a particularly well liked by those in the profession. As a tenured and distinguished English professor at a top ten university with twenty six years of experience in teaching writing, I think I am qualified to say with authority that Gregg is not the definitive anything. For what the Cliffs book intends- to provide a comprehensive and brief introduction to the basics of college writing for individuals with little to no previous experience and even less confidence- I think it exceeds expectations. Many of my students have improved their writing using this book.

This is a great book for brushing up on the basics of grammar, but I have found some mistakes in the answer keys to the "Chapter Checkouts". For example, in Chapter 4, it goes over comparative and superlative adverbs. In the answer key it says the comparative and superlative for "easily" are "easier and easiest", but this is not true; it would be "more easily and most easily". "Easier" and "easiest" would be the comparative and superlative for "easy", not "easily". I have found myself checking this book against the Gregg Reference Manual more than once since it is THE standard on this subject. But this book is easy to read and understand; and it is also easy to find something if you need to look something up. I'm still glad I bought this book and do still recommend it.

This is a great supplemental book that everyone who writes anything (from thesis papers to brief e-mails to your friends) should have!

After being out of college for twenty years, I wanted to review basic grammar and punctuation. So, I ordered a copy of this book -- Writing: Grammar, Usage, and Style -- by Cliffs Quick Review. In a word, it was just what I was looking for, a clear and concise review of English grammar. Although the book is 240 pages long, it has just the right amount of detail and examples without overdoing it. One can read it from front to back (as I am doing) without getting too bogged-down in detail. Or, the work could serve as a ready reference guide to basic grammar and punctuation. It's not just for students, but for anyone who wants to improve their writing skills. Highly recommended!